Sisters of Mercy
by gorgonmaid
Summary: This takes place in season one, between episodes 14 and 15.
1. Part One

**Part One**

The taillights were barely visible – two glowing red specks being swallowed by a steadily increasing blanket of white. The wind, carrying pounds of fresh snow with each gust, was causing the lights to grow dimmer by the second. Their own vehicle, a four-wheel drive SUV, was sturdy and still capable of navigating the snowy highway, but not for much longer. As they approached the dull, red lights, the dark form of a car became clear.

"Shit!" cried Bre.

"I told you that's what happened," said Kalli, the younger woman sitting beside her. They shared a glance and, after a deep breathe, both plunged out of the car into the storm.

Some 15 minutes later, the old black car was attached to the back of the SUV and was being gingerly pulled back along the snowy highway. It slid and bucked, threatening to pull the larger vehicle from the road every few feet.

"You sure you saw something close by?" Bre asked.

"I did…it was - there!" Kalli cried, pointing to a small road, a long gravel driveway really, that remained only just navigable for their truck.

"Lucky for them. I was about to cut them loose," Bre grumbled.

10 minutes down the blowing road, they pulled up at an abandoned farmhouse almost up to its lower windows in white powder. Around the back, they found a large, nearly empty barn big enough for both vehicles.

Once inside the barn, they shut the door as far as they could.

The impact had broken the back window of the car and snow filled the back seat. The two men, though breathing, were non-responsive to their calls.

"Cover your eyes," said Bre, and smashed the rear passenger window.

It didn't take long to extricate the unconscious men.

"They're both breathing – for now – but we've got to get them inside and warmed up or they won't be for long. Crap, where's the end of this dude?" Bre joked.

They rolled the men, one at a time, onto long sheets of cardboard and dragged them through the blinding snow, up the back steps, over the threshold and into the kitchen of the old house.

The house was clearly not a home any longer, but it bore all the markings of a temporary lodging. It was sometimes a port in a storm, such as this one, but probably more often than not, a drinking parlor for the local youths. It had rickety furniture clearly rummaged from the local dump, a few blankets and pillows and an enormous number of empty bottles and cans strewn around the floor. Otherwise, it was blissfully empty.

The two women pulled the grubby sofas as close as was safe to the fire now burning in the grate, kicking cans and rolling bottles out of the way as they went. They lifted the two unconscious men, one really almost a boy, if a tall one, onto the sofas and covered them both with what blankets they had.

"That was a beautiful butcher block counter. What a waste!" said Kalli 10 minutes later returning from the kitchen area with an armful of wooden chunks.

"Uh huh…so it was them or the counter? Honestly, I couldn't care less which one makes it," Bre quipped.

Kalli busied herself arranging the provisions they had. The weather report they'd heard just before they saw the car in front of them fishtail and plow into a ditch indicated that it would be at least 24 hours before the snow stopped and up to another 8 -10 hours after that before the highways were clear enough to travel safely. They were well stocked, fortunately, as they had recognized early on that the inevitable might happen and that they might be stuck somewhere along the road. They had been hoping to have arrived at their destination before the worst of it hit.

Outside, the wind howled and snow was blasted against the window panes. Inside, the front room had been sealed off with sliding doors to the front hall, and a plastic tarp over the door leading to the dining room and kitchen beyond through which they'd entered the house. It was getting warmer in the front room by the minute.

The older of the two women, Bre, was in her late-20s. She was busy with her duffel bag. It was large and green and covered with insignia from army platoons and squadrons from all over the world. They had been carefully stitched onto the sides and ends of the old bag. Some were new, the thread still bright and glossy on them, while others were far older, the thread worn and dull. She hauled out a smaller bag and began to search its contents. Her long, dark, wavy hair was pulled back into a tight braid and her face was clear and free of makeup. She had the look of a Grecian statue, but not cold and stony, though her gaze could sometimes feel like it. Her nose was full and strong. Her eyes were dark brown, like melted chocolate, and her lips were pale, but smooth. Her well-muscled arms were flexing beneath the grey shirt and black hoodie she wore.

"Shall I make some tea?" asked the younger woman.

"Yeah. Tea will fix everything," Bre said unenthusiastically.

"Well, I need some," Kalli replied. She was younger, maybe by 5 years or so. She was quite tall and fit. Her arms were long and lean, but strong, as were her legs. Her hair was straight, thick and blonde. It hung loose around her shoulders and over her strong back. Her nose was slightly turned up and her eyes were heavily lidded and so blue that they were almost purple. She pulled her cardigan tighter around her and slipped under the plastic tarp to get some fresh snow to melt.

"Yo, Kal! We've got a live one!" her sister yelled from the front room. Kalli ducked back under the tarp to find one of the men with a knife to Bre's throat, a wild, panicked look on his face.

"Where the hell am I? What have you done to him?" he cried motioning toward the younger man still unconscious on the sofa.

"Listen, buddy, we haven't done anything to either of you except drag your asses out of the snow and save your lives. You want us to put you back where we found you?" growled Bre, growing impatient.

"No, look, you were in the snow, and we pulled you out and brought you here," Kalli said in what she hoped was a soothing voice.

"My Impala!" he suddenly cried. "Where's my car?"

"Outside in the barn. It's fine – well, a few broken windows and stuck in a snow bank for a while – but otherwise fine. Really. We don't want to hurt you," said Kalli.

"Well, I kinda do," retorted Bre causing the man to press the knife harder against her throat.

"Please just calm down-" began Kalli when, suddenly, the man was on the floor with a boot at his shoulder and no knife in his hand.

"Ouch," he said once the boot was removed and he was helped back to the sofa. "I repeat, who the hell are you guys?"

"How about you answer some questions first, pretty boy?" said Bre.

"I ain't answering squat until I know who you are."

"Well, we ain't-" started Bre, when Kalli quickly interrupted.

"-OK, my name is Kalli Deukalion and this is Bre. We're…_travelers_," she explained vaguely.

"Just where you _travelin'_ to?" he asked gruffly, rubbing his shoulder and eyeing Bre with suspicion.

"Small town outside of Minneapolis," Kalli answered.

"What for?"

"What the hell business is it of yours?" Bre scoffed. "Look, this joker is-"

"Where…am…I?" a quiet voice called out from across the room.

"Hey, hey," the man said, and walked over to his side, "It's OK."

"My head…" the younger man said holding the back of his head.

"You OK?" Kalli asked, moving towards him.

"Hey, don't do that," the older man warned her.

"OK, OK…Look, we might as well calm down and relax here. We will likely be stuck here for 24 more hours before the roads will be passable," Kalli said.

"Yeah. I don't think I am going to feel comfortable while she's holding a knife," the man snapped.

"She'll put it down," said Kalli, pushing her sister's hand to lower the knife.

"Fine," Bre agreed, "but I think we ought to both disarm since this is _your _knife."

The man rose, nodded and growled, "Fine, let's do this."

The two stood face to face. He pulled a knife out of his pocket, and she pulled one out of a sleeve sheath. He had two small handguns tucked in his belt at the back. She took the one out of her ankle holster and placed it on the table between them.

"Happy?" Bre asked.

"Ecstatic," he grumbled, sitting back down quickly. "Whoa…what's wrong with me?"

"A little carbon monoxide poisoning, I assume. You were in the car for a while before we could get the engine turned off," Kalli explained.

"What's going on?" the younger man said, sitting up slowly, only to slump back against the arm of the sofa.

"Is it alright if I…?" Kalli asked, motioning towards him.

"_You_ armed?" his partner asked her.

"No," Kalli replied as he looked her over trying to find telltale weapons bulges in her clothing.

Bre said, "She doesn't need to be armed."

"Well, what the hell does _that_ mean?" he asked sharply.

"Nothing…she's just being_ funny_," Kalli replied. The older man finally nodded and Kalli moved over to the younger man. She pulled his eyelids up and checked his eyes. They were green and faintly ringed with a darker hazel. He blinked slowly and returned her gaze.

"You look good – I mean your eyes are…OK," she said, her cheeks suddenly warm. The older man smiled – those puppy dog eyes had gotten them out of a lot of scrapes.

"So - what's happening?" the younger man croaked.

"Sorry. You guys were in an accident and we pulled you out. I'm afraid we could only get you this far," Kalli explained.

"Where is this?" he asked, still somewhat groggy.

"An abandoned farm outside of…well, we are pretty near Minneapolis."

"Oh…well, thanks for helping," he said politely.

"Finally some thanks," huffed Bre as she moved all the weapons to a table near a window under the man's watchful gaze.

"Could I have some water?" the young man then asked.

"Yeah, here, have some of this," said his companion, handing him a water bottle.

"Look, we were saying to - um… your boyfriend," Bre started to explain to him.

"_Brother_…" the young man croaked, a scandalized look on his face.

"Fine, then, to your _brother_, that we are stuck for _at least _the next 24 hours if the weather forecast is right. The snow hasn't let up and the roads will take a while to get cleared out here."

The two men shared a look of dissatisfaction.

"Anyone hungry?" Kalli offered, the tension in the room making her nervous.

"I could eat," said the gruff man, his disposition changing slightly at the mention of food.

"I gotta warn you guys – don't get too excited. Vegetarian stew from a can isn't much to get excited about," Bre laughed bitterly.

"Oh…well. Starving is starving, so bring it on," he replied.

Kalli took out the cooking supplies and began to set up near the fire. The younger man made his way slowly over to her.

"Need a hand?" he asked.

"You OK, now? Not still dizzy?"

"I'll be fine."

"Can you work a can opener?"

"I think so," he laughed, and took the can and opener from her hand. "I'm Sam, by the way."

"I'm Kalli," she replied.

"That's a nice blade," the older man said looking over Bre's shoulder as she packed her knives away.

"Yeah. It'll cut through you like butter – I mean if I were so inclined."

"Hey. I'm trying to be nice, here," he said.

"Yeah, well, it's kinda hard to tell with you."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. We never know who to trust in our line of work. I'm Dean."

"I'm Bre," she said and they shook hands briefly. "And what line of work are you fellows in?" she asked with mock casualness.

"Um…_sales_…" Dean said awkwardly.

"Cut the shit. You guys are hunters. I had a good look in your trunk when you were out cold."

"How – are _you_ two hunters?"

"Of a sort."

"So when you said earlier that she didn't need to be armed, that's what you meant."

"Yeah. It meant she can kill a dude with her bare hands if needs be. We both can, so watch it."

"Dean, could you get some more firewood? There's some in the kitchen back there apparently," Sam called from cross the room.

"Dean? Sam and Dean? Are you guys the Winchesters?" Kalli inquired.

"Oh, my God," Bre cried, the surprise evident in her voice.

"Um…yeah. Do we know you?" Sam asked.

"Uh, no, but we've heard all about John Winchester's boys. Recently as a matter of fact."

"What have you heard exactly?" he then asked.

"Nothing bad…well…I mean that you guys are..." Kalli began to explain, but paused.

"Dickheads!" Bre interjected.

"Hey!" Dean barked.

"No, it's just that…well…your dad has a _reputation_," Kalli said carefully.

"And what is his_ reputation_?" Sam asked earnestly.

Kalli opened her mouth to speak, but it was clear she couldn't find a nice way to say what she had to say, so she closed it again.

"That your dad, and by extension the two of you, are a bit psycho, leave a bloody swath in your wake and that your brother, Dean, here, can't keep it in his pants," Bre explained to Sam, not saddled by the sense of propriety that Kalli seemed to be.

Dean and Sam shared a glance. Sam shrugged and Dean nodded and said, "Fair enough."

"Drink?" Bre said, waggling the bottle of Vodka in her hand and raising her eyebrows at Dean.

"What the hell," he replied.

"So you guys are the Winchesters. I have heard so much about you from other hunters," Kalli said after some minutes of silence had passed between her and Sam.

"Oh, well, don't believe everything you hear," Sam pleaded mildly.

"I like to make up my own mind," Kalli replied. "Dinner!" she called to Dean and Bre, who were on their third Vodka slushy by then.

The dinner was lively. Bre and Dean were getting plastered and alternating between bickering and flirting. Though the night would likely end for them in one of two ways, neither Kalli nor Sam had any idea which way it would go.

"It doesn't look like its letting up out there, does it? Isn't this kind of a lot of snow for this time of year?" Sam asked Bre as she wiped the dishes with warm soapy water. Her sister cooked and she cleaned up. That was their deal.

"Bloody climate change," she replied. "Good lord, you are a tall drink of water, ain't ya?"

"Apparently."

"Hey, so your brother…um…what's he like in a fight?"

"The best. Strong, fast and unwavering," said Sam.

"How about in the sack?"

"Um... Idon't know personally, but from what I've heard, about the same," said Sam lamely.

"Good to know," Bre replied and checked Dean out across the room.

"That friend of yours…" Dean said.

"Bre."

"Yeah, Bre. What's her story?" he asked, stoking the fire and breaking the wood into kindling while sneaking glances at Bre over his shoulder.

"Maybe you should ask her yourself."

"I may just do that," he said, bringing the fire to a full roar. He dusted off his hands and then moved to the shelves nearby where he grabbed a dusty box from the top shelf. "Anyone for a game of Yahtzee?"

"Me!" Bre cried and threw the towel down. "I'll kick your ass Winchester."

"I'll pay you $50 to stop calling me by my last name."

"I'll pay _you_ $50 if you can _remember _myname." It was a safe bet for her.

"OK… what are the stakes?" Dean asked with mock irritation.

"Let's play it by ear," she replied tartly.

"Can I help?" Sam asked.

"No, just finishing up," Kalli replied a little nervously. She wasn't sure why, but there was something about Sam Winchester that made her uneasy. It wasn't his reputation or his dad's, though, that made her nervous. She suspected it had to do with something less cerebral.

"OK. You wouldn't have any coffee, would you?" he asked, running his hand through his hair.

"Sorry, just tea," she replied apologetically. "You OK?"

"Yeah, fine. Thanks anyway."

Kalli moved to the sofa nearest the front window and sat down. Sam motioned to the seat beside her and she nodded assent.

"Do you mind if I ask…what got you two into the business."

"Just a job," she replied.

"But why _this_ job?"

"Would you believe it's sort of a family business?"

Sam smiled and nodded. "I would," he answered.

"Right. Of course. For you guys, too. Well, our stories are probably not so different," she said, then paused. Across the room, Bre and Dean were laughing. She looked back as Sam and asked, "Are you really interested in hearing this stuff?"

"I am. You seem to know all about us, but we know nothing about you and it looks like we'll be stuck here for a while," Sam replied motioning to the storm outside. Snow suddenly blasted the windows as if to provide him with ample and timely evidence.

"OK, well. We are sisters – _half_-sisters actually – the same mother, different fathers. I don't know the complete history, but I understand our family goes way, _way _back in this particular line of work. I guess the most recent iteration of the 'family business' part started in 1943 when our maternal grandmother came over from England. She worked in Bletchley Park prior to her arrival here. You OK?" she asked. Sam had raised his hand to his head again and closed his eyes.

"Bit of a headache. It's nothing. So she was a code breaker or something?"

"She was. And a good one. The Americans begged her to help with their training for 6 months, so she did, but she had every intention of going back to England. Then she met my grandfather and, well long story short, she stayed here. They both joined this sort of secret society."

"The Masons?" Sam asked and then laughed.

"Not exactly," she replied and laughed as well. It felt nice to laugh. There were times during the last two years when she thought she'd never laugh again. "It was a secret organization of hunters and intelligence gatherers. Their mission was to collect data on every sort of monster and demon in order to preserve the information – spells, incantations, weapons, and what-have-you. They apparently had a secret lair somewhere in the mid-west – Kansas maybe?"

"I've never heard of them."

"I often wonder if it was just one of Grandmother's stories."

"So you got involved because of them?"

"Not exactly," she said, and then added, "This must be really boring for you."

"It isn't. Honestly. Please go on."

"OK. My mother was a code breaker, like her mother before her. She did work for hunters, sort of contract work, so that she could take care of us. Hunters and trackers as well as universities would send codes and script to her for decryption. She got paid or paid in kind and we stayed out of harm's way. That's why we know about your dad, and you guys."

"I repeat: please don't judge us based on what you hear. Hunters can be petty," Sam explained.

"And I repeat: I like to make up my own mind."

"Good. I'm glad to hear it."

"I think there are a few dice missing," Dean laughed, putting the remaining dice into a red plastic cup and shaking them vigorously. "Ha! 18 take that!" he then added as the dice rolled on to the table top.

Bre paused for a long moment and looked across the room at her sister. She inhaled deeply, and then slowly sighed.

"Do you every feel like you're a supporting character in your own life story?" she asked wistfully. Dean closed his eyes and smiled.

"I do – and I'll drink to that," he replied. They clinked their glasses together and then both downed the icy vodka remains.

"More?" she asked.

"God, yes!" he replied, and picked up the cup to roll again.

"Kallistrate? Did I say it right?"

"You did, but most people don't. That's why I go by Kalli. My mother's family is Greek from way back. My grandmother spoke 5 languages: Greek, Italian, English, German and Latin," she counted off on her fingers.

"Quite a polyglot," Sam added gently.

"She was," Kalli agreed enthusiastically.

"What does your name mean in Greek?"

"Um…something like 'beautiful army' or 'beautiful warrior'."

"So a friendly name?" Sam joked and Kalli laughed. "It suits you," he then said.

Kalli blushed and then stuttered her way through the next question. "What's yours mean?"

"Um… 'Heard by God'," replied Sam.

"And are you? 'Heard by God' I mean."

"The jury's still out on that one," he replied with a chuckle.

"So your dad's dad was a doctor, and dad's mom was an artist?" Dean asked.

"Right. And _your_ dad's dad was a soldier?"

"Uh, he was a deadbeat mostly, but yeah, he was in the service."

"Ah…and mom's dad was a salesman?"

"Yup. And, as you obviously know, our dad is a hunter. How about your dad?"

"I am not really sure what he did exactly, but I suspect he was in the business. Mom said he 'travelled for work'".

"That's totally hunter code for 'He's a hunter!'" Dean joked.

"As if any of _us_ had a chance not involved," Bre said bitterly, as she watched the dice roll around the cup and sipped the last of her drink.

"What unit were you with?" Dean asked and smiled at her surprise.

"32nd Armored. How did you know?"

"You have lots of military tells, but mostly the patches on the duffel. My father was in the marines when he was younger and still has tons of them."

"I guess they become a sort of talisman. Maybe you start to believe they ward off evil."

"And do they?"

"Not really. I know lots of dead men and women whose bags were covered in them."

Dean smiled knowingly and said, "I'd better get more wood."

"You don't already have wood?" she teased.

"We can talk about my wood later," he replied with a wicked grin.

Dean stood up and slipped under the tarp toward the kitchen. Kalli watched him go, then crossed the room and sat beside her sister, taking a sip from her glass.

"Ick," she said.

"It's an acquired taste."

"Speaking of acquired tastes, what are you and Dean over here talking about?"

"Nothing. War stories. How about you and Godzilla?"

"Cut it out - he's nice. Just a bit of family history."

"Keep it shallow, Kal. They don't need to know all our business."

Dean flipped the tarp back open with a huge grin on his face.

"OK, there must have been some awesome teenagers here recently. I found a case of beer – not yet frozen – under the kitchen sink. Sammy, beer?"

"One, sure."

The four of them sat together and drank beer. It was quiet and in the silence, the whipping of the wind and the tapping of frozen flakes against the glass filled the void.

"You mind if I ask why you guys are headed to this unnamed small town?" said Dean once the silence had stretched out uncomfortably long for his taste.

"As long as I can ask you the same," Bre replied.

"What do you know, exactly?" he then asked.

"Damn sight more than you do."

"Cut that the hell out and answer the question," Dean barked, but Sam knew it wasn't sincere anger – Dean was actually having fun!

"Hey – look. It's obvious we are all headed to the same place. Couldn't we…you know work _together _on this?" Kalli inquired.

"We don't really play well with others," explained Dean.

"He's a bit gun-shy – so to speak - when it comes to working with other people," Sam added, with some regret in his voice.

"I'd better get that wood," Dean said as he lifted the tarp and slipped under it. Bre sat for a moment then followed him out to the kitchen.

"It's about 10 pm, but it's hard to tell since it's been this dark all day," Sam said to Kalli.

"Let's hope it lets up soon. I am not sure how much more of those two I can take," Kalli said ruefully.

"Dean's not so bad when you get to know him."

"No, nor is Bre. Other people make her jumpy."

"Yeah. It makes life hard when you don't know who to trust. It might be nice to have a team for once. A new face now and then wouldn't be so bad."

"Yeah, a team sounds good about now," she agreed.

Sam nodded and met her eyes. They were blue, but not only blue. To Sam it seemed even in the darkened room in only the light of the fire and two small lanterns that they were like a spray of spring violets.

"So how long you two been on the road?" Dean asked, hacking away at the remains of the butcher block counter.

"Off and on for about 18 months, since I got back from Kandahar," Bre said, jumping up onto the counter and then swinging her legs.

"What was your mission?"

"Mostly recon – collecting info and tech."

"Cool. What was your sister doing all that time?"

"Kalli was in school – she had just started medical school."

"Doctor? Nice! Must come in handy when you need to be stitched up."

"It does."

"How's this?" he asked showing her the wood he had managed to hack off from the nearly depleted butcher block counter.

"It'll do for now. Listen, I'm not too keen on this whole team thing, either," she said.

"It seems we might not have much of a choice if those two have their way," Dean replied.

As he tried to pass her to return to the sitting room, Bre swung her legs up, planting her feet on the wall on either side of him, trapping him. "My sister does tend to love strays. I can't tell you how many cats and dogs we had growing up. I was kind of surprised she never became a vet. What kind of strays are you boys? The kind that play nice or the kind that bite?"

Dean turned toward her and placed the wood on the counter beside her. "You got something in particular to say, then say it."

"I am just saying that team or not, I look after my sister first and foremost. I don't put anything above her safety."

"I feel the same about my brother."

They stared into each other's eyes for some time before Bre spoke again. "As long as we understand each other," she finally said.

"Oh, I think we understand each other perfectly," he replied.

He leaned close to her, his lips only inches from hers…then picked up the wood back up and moved toward the tarp.

"You're a tease, Dean Winchester," she called after him.

"No, I ain't," he called back before ducking under the tarp.

"The radio says the snow should stop by dawn and that we could probably be on our way by the early afternoon," Kalli told the two of them as they re-entered the living room.

"Only the boys in the beater need to wait for the plow – I bet my truck could get out a lot sooner."

"Beater?" Dean barked.

"Uh oh," Kalli said.

"I think what you meant to say is _cherry classic automobile_."

"If you say so," laughed Bre.

"I am willing to bet that the Impala will make it a hell of a lot farther than your cookie-cutter box of shit tomorrow."

"Oh, would ya give it a rest?" Bre responded, still laughing.

Behind the three of them, in the farthest corner of the room, Sam suddenly put his hands to his head. He started to sway and then fell forward onto his knees.

"Sam!" Kalli shouted when she heard the thump behind her.

"Sammy!" Dean yelled and bolted over to him. "What is it, what the hell is wrong with him?"

"I…don't…maybe a concussion, or his carbon monoxide poisoning was worse than I thought."

"Do something," yelled Dean.

Kalli nodded and used her hands to search Sam's head for a wound. She found a large lump on the left side near the back. It had not been at all visible under his mass of hair.

"It's a subdural hematoma. I think I can fix it."

"Then do it, Doc," Dean said, grabbing her by the arm.

"Get your hands off her. She needs room to work," Bre shouted pushing Dean away from Kalli. "Do what you can _within reason," _she whispered to her younger sister.

"What the hell does that mean? What's _within reason_?" Dean demanded.

"Back off, Winchester!" Bre cried, drawing a knife from her pants pocket.

Sam's body was growing limp and his breathing was slowing down. Kalli was flustered and turned with a pleading face to her older sister.

"I'm sorry, I can't…I have to help him, Bre."

"Kalli!" Bre warned.

"Help him – do it – what the hell are you waiting for?" cried Dean, ignoring the knife.

Kalli put her hands together and cupped them over the lump on Sam's head. She closed her eyes and her lips moved silently. Bre quickly cut off Dean's view and pushed him out to a full arm's length. Suddenly Kalli fell back and Sam sat upright.

"Sammy – you OK?" Dean cried, falling on his knees beside his brother.

"Uh...what happened?" Sam asked.

"That's what I'd like to know? What the hell did you do to him?" Dean demanded, moving toward Kalli.

"I told you, back off, Winchester," said Bre, her knife raised and pointed at him.

"Bre…Dean…please. I need to see if Sam is OK."

"You aren't going anywhere near him again," Dean barked.

"Geez, you idiot, if she wanted to hurt him she would've just done _nothing_!"

"Please, Dean. I just want to check him," Kalli pleaded.

"What did you do to him? What – I thought I saw-" Dean started to say.

"- It was a subdural hematoma," Kalli interrupted, "like a blood blister on the brain. It causes pressure to build up, so I applied some light external pressure to it, and it dispersed the blood to be absorbed by his body. It doesn't always work, and I was taking a chance. But thankfully it seems to have worked this time. He is going to be fine," she told him, checking Sam's eyes and head.

"Sammy?" Dean asked.

"I'm fine, Dean. I feel fine. Good even," Sam replied. His head no longer ached and he felt the best he'd felt in weeks, maybe even months.

"Maybe we should all get a little sleep. The snow seems to be lightening up a little and once the highway has been cleared, I guess we'll all be on our way," Kalli said.

"Is it safe for him to sleep?" Dean inquired. His concern for his brother was plain on his face.

"It's absolutely necessary that he sleep," Kalli assured him.

Dean and Sam moved to the sofa nearest the front window, while the girls took the other sofa nearest the kitchen. The boys each slumped down on an end of the sofa with their feet propped up on an old coffee table in front of them and each pulled a blanket up around their throats. Dean was thoughtful. He couldn't get something out of his head - something he'd seen. He would have sworn – if asked under oath – that he'd seen a sort of blue light seep out from under Kalli's hands. But it wasn't possible, was it? He shook his head, checked on Sam beside him and closed his eyes after some time.

Bre and Kalli both lay down, Bre on the floor and Kalli on the sofa facing towards the fire and the boys. Bre watched Dean fall asleep and then whispered to her sister, "That was not smart, Kalli. What if they had seen?"

"But they didn't and everything is fine," Kalli whispered back. Bre eventually fell asleep, her knife close at hand. But Kalli stared across the dark expanse a little longer. For a while, she thought could see Sam's eyes glinting in the firelight. But she soon felt her eyelids grow heavy and she drifted off to sleep feeling safer than she usually did in the presence of others.

When Sam opened his eyes the next morning, the windows were bright – the sun on the snow was blinding even in the darkened room. He rolled over and shivered from the cold.

"Hey, Dean, wake up."

"Hmmm…is it morning already?"

"Yup and - uh oh," Sam said, after sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"What? What now?" Dean grumbled.

"Um… they're gone."

Dean sat bolt upright and scanned the room. The bags and cooking supplies were gone and the tarp had been removed as well.

The two men dressed and ran out into the backyard to the barn. The Impala was there, but the other vehicle was gone. Deep grooves in the snow showed how it had backed out, gotten stuck, but then apparently had been able to get free and had driven around the side of the house and off towards the highway.

Dean kicked the barn door shut. He was furious because he knew there was no way the Impala could make it out of the barn, let alone to the highway – not until a plow had been through.

"Son of a bitch!" he cried.


	2. Part Two

Part Two

"You guys need a lift?" said a cheery voice.

"Oh, crap you're up," said a considerably less cheery voice.

"Not cool," Dean growled. He hated not having his car – it made him feel like he had no control. He only let Sam drive it when he was desperate for sleep. Sitting in the passenger seat sucked! However, Dean comforted himself by shouting "Shotgun" the minute he saw the truck was running and realized that, like it or not, they were going to have to hitch a ride.

It didn't take long for the boys to transfer most of their arsenal to the back of the SUV. The girls had fashioned a sort of plow from aluminum siding pieces salvaged from a run-down shed. With some considerable effort, the four of them were able to lift it and attach it to the truck's grill.

It was still slow going, but they could see a snowplow up on the highway in front of them headed east. Once they reached the main road, they removed their make-shift plow, and continued on in the single cleared lane. Although fresh snow was no longer falling, the wind was still blowing hard enough that the cleared lane seemed to be filling in behind them as fast as they could drive.

"So what's your brilliant plan?" Bre asked Dean once they were on the highway.

"Plan?" Dean replied. "Umm…well, I guess we need to see what we are up against first."

"We think it is multiple demons. It has to be, the news stories were too weird for it to be just one. The police were calling it an outbreak or a plague in their reports yesterday."

"Well, they would, now, wouldn't they?"

"Cops," said Bre scornfully, after which she and Dean shared a look of understanding.

"Sorry if we scared you back there," Kalli said to Sam.

"Were you planning on leaving us?"

"I wasn't, but Bre can be really stubborn. I was just coming back in to wake you."

"Uh huh," Sam replied somewhat skeptically, but smiling.

"No, really. We haven't really worked with other…_teams_ before. We're not exactly sure what the protocol is. But I told Bre your car would never make it out and that we ought to give you a lift."

"Well, I'm glad you did," Sam replied. And for whatever reason, he believed her.

"Me, too," she agreed, the reason becoming very apparent to her.

"And thanks for last night," Sam added, touching the spot on his head she had mended.

"Of course, anytime," she replied.

It was a small town that sat off to the north of the highway. The snow had begun to melt due to the rising temperature, but it remained quite deep and there were still no cars out on the highway. They slowed the truck down and parked it behind a gas station on the edge of town, close to Highway 94. The station had made a sort of shelter from the brunt of the snow, and they were able to park on the leeward side and unload their gear. They loaded up and set out on foot toward the center of town.

The town was deadly silent. Although it apparently had about 250 citizens, that day, the population seemed more like 0. According to last local news report, 14 people had fallen ill in the last 10 days. Then suddenly, the news stopped coming out and a plague was declared. If it hadn't been so stormy, local law enforcement would likely have set up barricades and called in the CDC. Perhaps they thought the snow would keep it contained until they could deal with the problem.

While the snow had been somewhat cleared from the highway at the edge of town, the other streets were still in deep drifts and dunes. They worked their way north and west from the south-eastern corner of town, checking homes and buildings. An SUV emblazoned with the town's police department insignia seemed to be making the rounds where it could. It crossed their path several times, but each time they ducked behind the nearest building. The man in the vehicle was scanning the streets, but Dean felt sure his eyes were demon-black, so they waited until it passed before they stepped back out.

Once it had, they set off again to find out where the people had gone. The sun, with its weak spring light, had passed overhead and the early afternoon shadows of April were starting to fall across the road.

They finally made it to the town proper, Main Street, and split up to cover more ground.

"Sam, you and…Bre…take the west side. Doc and I'll take the east," Dean instructed.

Sam and Bre made their way from doorway to doorway, ducking in and checking doorknobs. The whole street seemed locked up.

On the opposite side of the street, Dean and Kalli did the same.

"I appreciate what you did for my brother," Dean said.

"Of course. I am glad I could help," replied Kalli.

"You know, I could swear I saw a blue light under your hands back there."

"Hmm…blue light? I don't know-"

"-Shh-" he said, pushing her back against the wall.

"What is it?" she whispered. Dean pointed to the next doorway and indicated to her to hang back. He went out and returned, motioning for her to follow him. It was an elderly man, pustules, boils and dark bruises covering his skin.

"He looks burnt. Anything you can do for him, Doc?" Dean asked.

"I'll have a look. You keep a look out for others," she told him. Dean rolled his eyes as if she had said the most obvious thing in the world, which of course she had, and turned his back. She put her hands on the man's head and closed her eyes. Her hands began to tremble, a pale blue light seeped from between her fingers, but the man did not move.

"Sorry, there was nothing I could do," she told him sadly.

"OK, let's move out."

On the opposite side of the street, Sam and Bre had reached the end of the block and were about to cross over to meet up with the others, when suddenly a body shot out of the last doorway and tackled Sam. He fell under its weight and even with both hands against its chest, he could barely keep it off of him. Beyond his attacker he could see a second figure lurching out of the growing darkness. Bre spun and kicked the new arrival square in the chest. It stumbled backward into the street and began to scream in agony, its arms thrown across its face before it fell. The attacker on top of Sam jerked suddenly as its head slid slowly off its neck and rolled into the street. The body was easy to push off after that.

"Thanks," Sam panted as Bre helped him to his feet.

"No problemo," she replied.

"You OK?" Dean asked breathlessly after he and Kalli darted kitty corner across the street to them.

"Yeah, we're OK," Bre said. "You two OK?"

"We're fine," Kalli replied to her.

"What the hell happened to that guy? I mean it was a great kick, don't get me wrong, but it was hardly enough to take him out, was it?" Dean asked.

"I'm not sure. I guess decapitation was enough for this guy, though," she replied and waved her long knife toward the body at her feet.

"Yeah. Good one," Dean agreed.

"I'd like to have a better look at that guy if that's possible. Maybe we could find somewhere to hole up?" Kalli requested.

Dean and Bre went up ahead and were able to find a dentist's office just off the main street. The building was locked up tight with no movement within. The two men quickly carried the body wrapped in a plastic tarp liberated from the hardware store on the ground floor of the same building. They carried it around the corner, over a snow bank, through the now open side door, and up the flight of stairs. Bre and Kalli barricaded the door from inside with furniture and whatever else they could find and followed the others up.

They laid the body out on a lunch table and Sam assisted Kalli as she studied the remains. The body and head were covered in blisters and open sores. Dark purple patches of skin covered the exposed areas of the flesh.

"Let's see what's inside," Kalli said unenthusiastically. It was a sentiment that Sam echoed with a half-hearted smile.

Bre and Dean each took a side, watching the back and the side of the building, carefully and ducking out of the way whenever the police cruiser rolled by. It was always manned by the same individual. Whether or not he was going to be a problem remained to be seen; even at the best of times, police and hunters were uncomfortable companions. However, by the time night had fully fallen, he had stopped coming around, and they felt they could relax a little.

"Well, I am not sure exactly what this guy is, but it is clear he is human and has been infected with something," Kalli said as she and Sam rejoined the other two.

"Great. How about us? Are we going to be infected or something?" Dean asked.

"The weird thing is it presents like Gunther's Disease."

"Umm…huh?" said Dean on behalf of the others.

"Sorry. It's called erythropoietic porphyria. It's like an allergy to the sun. It presents like severe sunburn - but _really_ severe. That's why this guy died. They can't take any exposure to direct sunlight. Usually, it is a congenital condition, but this guy has no old scarring. It is all new. I mean, in some mild cases symptoms don't show until adulthood, but this is not what I would categorize as a mild case."

"Unless it isn't naturally occurring," Sam reasoned.

"Exactly," she agreed. "I am not sure how it is spread. But it is physiological – not spiritual. Maybe it's bacterial or even a virus," Kalli replied.

"So not a demon?" Bre asked.

"I don't know," Dean said. The other 3 turned to look at him. "Unless they are trying to make them taste better or something. Demons usually want two things – a ride or dinner," he added.

"Well, then, sorry boys. We are off at daybreak," said Bre suddenly.

"What? Why? There is still a job to do here," Dean barked.

"Not for us. We don't do sun-zombies or whatever the hell they are," Bre retorted.

"The job is the job. We don't get to pick and choose."

"How about _you _don't tell us what to do."

"How about you stick it out like _men_ and do what needs to be done," Dean barked.

"So what you're saying is being a _man_ is something women should aspire to," Bre barked back.

"That's not what I meant- I meant a _hunter_ should do his _or her_ job – whatever it is!"

"Bre, look, maybe we can help," Kalli said. Then she turned to Sam and Dean and explained. "We sort of specialize in demon work. We don't have much experience with other things. But, I think we should stay and help where we can. Please, Bre."

Her sister was clearly not pleased, but she pulled a bottle of vodka out of her bag, took a swig and stalked back to the back window.

An hour later, after Kalli had cleaned herself up and Sam had put out what dry goods they had, Bre reluctantly joined them to eat.

"I haven't seen anything for hours. That cruiser isn't even moving out there anymore. But I can hear something – like bodies moving just out of sight in the dark. They seem to be avoiding the streetlamps."

"Lots of streetlamps, like those fluorescent ones, can give off UV light," Dean suggested.

"That could do it," Kalli agreed.

"Hmm…so there is a brain behind that pretty face," Bre teased, and Dean smiled back reluctantly.

"Then let's eat and come at it fresh in the morning," Sam suggested.

"You any kind of gambler, Winchester?" Bre asked Dean once they had all finished eating and thrown away the remains of the meal. "I mean, I know you suck at Yahtzee already."

"You wanna find out?" he replied.

"Poker?" she offered coyly.

"Sounds good."

"Strip?"

"Sounds even better."

"Oh, Lord. We may not want to hang around for this," Kalli said and moved back across the hall into the front waiting room motioning for Sam to follow. With two small lanterns lit and placed on the floor, they pulled the waiting room chairs together to make two long, narrow beds to lie on. They looked at each other, a little shyly, while across the hall, they heard Dean groan, "Not my leather jacket," as Bre hooted with laughter.

"How good is your brother at cards?" Kalli asked.

"Sober? Pretty good. Drunk? Well, you may get to see a lot more of him than you bargained for."

Bre's raucous laughter was audible for several minutes until Sam turned on the waiting room radio and turned up the volume.

"Oh, thank God."

"Or Kelly Clarkson."

Kalli laughed and rolled on her side to look at Sam, her jacket folded under her head like a pillow. "Just over two years ago I was in medical school at Duke. Now this is my life."

"Weren't you kind of young to be in medical school?"

"I guess. I graduated high school at 14 and got advanced placement."

"14? Holy cow, you must be smart."

"She's a frickin' genius!" Bre called from the next room.

"Anyway, I did an under-grad degree in linguistics in 18 months-"

"-The family business," Sam interjected.

"Exactly," Kalli replied and smiled, "Then I did 2 years of biology and then got in to medical school. I was 2 years into that - then I just quit."

"This was after your mother died?" asked Sam, taking a sip from a bottle of water looted from the dentist's office mini-fridge.

"Yup. She had had cancer. But there was nothing I could do about it. I just realized that I could do more for the world working with hunters than I could ever do as a doctor. School just suddenly didn't seem all that important."

"I stopped school, too – law school at Stanford."

"Really, why?"

"My father had disappeared and we went on the road to find him. Just like the good old days of sleeping in crappy motels and changing schools every week or two. We were on the road for my whole childhood, and there I was, leaving school again to hit the road. University was the first time I had ever stayed put for any amount of time. Then my brother shows up, tells me our father has disappeared, and the next thing I know I am back out on the road."

"Oh, my God. You just had no childhood, did you?" she asked sympathetically.

"Not much of one, anyway. But I guess you know all about that, don't you?"

"Well, actually, our life was pretty normal up until our mom died. I mean aside from having weird hunters in our house at all hours, I think the worst thing that happened before mom died was that I didn't get to go to my high school prom."

"Me neither," Sam laughed and asked, "What happened to you?"

"The night of the prom, Mom got an urgent call and I had to go with her out of town because Bre was in basic training in South Carolina. Roger Gates had asked me only two days before and I had rushed to get a dress and everything."

"What a jerk, leaving it 'til the last minute."

"I was lucky he asked at all. Try being 4 years younger and 4 inches taller in heels than half of the guys in your class. No one wants to dance with the giant baby."

"That is a pain I know too well," Sam replied.

"Heels, really?" she giggled.

"OK, maybe not the heels, but the tall thing – I get that."

She eyed Sam closely until he turned his head to meet her eyes.

"There's something about you Sam Winchester that I just can't put my finger on."

"That so?

"It is. I can't figure you out."

"Maybe you shouldn't try too hard. You might not like what you find," he said earnestly, but she smiled back at him.

"Ooo, I like this song," Kalli then said.

Sam thought for a second, then stood up quickly and held his hand out to her. "I may not be Roger Gates – and this may not be a school gym filled with sweaty pubescent teenagers – but, would you do me the honour of dancing with me?" Kalli was surprised, but took his hand gladly.

"I would love that," she said brightly.

Sam put his arms around her and she did the same. She had to look up at him to meet his eyes, which was not a sensation she was used to. It was late, and she was tired, so she leaned in against him, her forehead resting against his cheek. Kalli never felt safe with anyone – not with anyone except Bre – but she felt safe with Sam. They swayed in a small circle through several slow songs.

At one point Dean called over to them from the other room, "I can't see the Holy Ghost between you two!" which caused him and Bre to collapse in a gale of drunken laughter.

"I'm very glad you're here – both of you. I think even Bre is glad to have your help in this," Kalli told him.

"She has an interesting way of showing it."

"Your brother seems to bring out the worst in her."

"That right? Dean's always this big of a dick," said Sam and both laughed.

"Although, they seem to be getting a long _pretty well_ right now," Kalli remarked.

"Yeah, I'd rather not think about that. So, how did you two end up hunting exactly?" Sam asked as they swayed slowly together, locked tightly in each other's arms.

"When I was 18, Bre was in basic training. I came home from school one night to find my mother's body. The coroner said the cancer finally took her, and I guess he was right, but _something_ didn't seem right. It seemed like the house had been gone over. Some of her papers were missing. I didn't know what else to do, so I called Bobby Singer. You know him, right?"

"I know Bobby Singer very well."

"I asked him to come over and help. He and his friend Rufus came. Before that point I didn't know exactly what they_ did_, but I got a crash course that night. There was sulfur at my house and they knew what to look for. The signs were there, but I didn't know how to read them. Not like I do now."

"It is a terrible thing to be an expert at."

"Yeah. The only way to become one is to lose a lot of people. Good people. People you love. You lost your mom too, huh?"

"Yeah, when I was a baby. I never even knew her."

"I never knew my dad, either."

"Is he dead?"

"He must be. Or part of me hopes he is. Because if he's _dead_, it means he didn't just abandon me."

A few tears welled in her eyes and one started down her cheek, but Sam reached down and tenderly wiped it away.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," he said gently.

"And I'm sorry for yours," she replied. She looked into his eyes, dark in the shadows of the room, but still bright.

"Uh…It's getting late – or, rather, early. I guess we should go to sleep," he said, his cheeks suddenly warm in the cool room.

"I guess so," she replied reluctantly. "Sam? Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being you."

"You're welcome," he replied and bowed dramatically.

"And thanks for the wonderful prom," Kalli said, doing her best curtsey. She looked up into his eyes, but they were so intense that she swallowed nervously under their gaze.

"So, sleep," he finally murmured, breaking the tension between them.

"Yeah, right, sleep," she concurred. They moved back to their long beds. It was certainly not comfortable, but at least they both had enough leg room to stretch out. The noises from the other room had taken a bit of a turn. There was less laughing and more whispering and after a few minutes, the door to the room closed with a dull thud.

Sam lay on his side looking toward Kalli. She could see his eyes in the steady light of the remaining lamp and they shared a smile.

Suddenly, Bre's voice was raised in anger and the door flew open. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means I like to be…" Dean trailed off.

"In charge? The boss? Jesus! I bet you like 'em small and weak so you feel like a big man, huh? Well screw you! No, on second thought – I _won't_ screw you, you frickin' douchebag!" she barked and made for the kitchen.

"You think that makes me _sad_?" Dean yelled back. "I can do a lot _better_!" he finished and slammed the door.

Sam and Kalli looked at each other and both smiled.

"Sorry about my brother," Sam laughed quietly.

"Sorry about my sister," Kalli laughed back, equally quietly.

"Family, huh. What can you do?"

"Not much. I love my sister – honestly – there isn't anyone I love better. But it's lonely on the road with her. I know she means well, but I don't really need a mom, you know. She never wants to let me make my own decisions. I mean she sort of drags me around. We _meet_ lots of people, but we never have time to get to_ know _anyone. We stop in hunter's hide-outs, share stories about kills, fend off a few pervs and then it is time to move on."

"I know exactly what you mean," Sam said and leaned over to put out the lamp on the floor between them. In the dark, as he moved back to lay down again, she leaned over and kissed him tentatively on the mouth.

"Kalli, I…it's complicated," he said when he finally pulled away from her.

"Sorry," she whispered, relieved the darkness was hiding her reddened cheeks.

"The timing is just not good," he explained.

She smiled a little sadly and leaned back, laying her head on her jacket. "Story of my life…," she said.

"Mine, too," he agreed.

"Good night, Samuel," she whispered.

"Good night, Kallistrate," he replied.

"Doesn't exactly roll of the tongue, does it?" she said and giggled softly.

"I like it," he assured her.

She smiled and rolled over, turning her back to him, but it took some time for her to fall asleep.


	3. Part Three

The morning came earlier than Kalli would have liked. She rolled over to find Sam's make-shift bed empty and sat up scanning the room. Her back was stiff and her hips felt sore. She could hear the voices in the other room, quietly talking, so she went to join them.

"Morning sleepy-head," Bre said.

"Morning, Bre, Dean… Sam," responded Kalli, taking a seat beside her sister. She didn't meet Sam's eyes as she was still a little bit embarrassed by the previous night's events.

"I figure we ought to keep sweeping the town street by street. We are about half way through at this point. This map shows two large buildings closer to the far end of town. One is the community center and the other is the high school," Dean explained. If he noticed the awkwardness between Sam and Kalli, he did not mention it. And if there was any awkwardness between him and Bre, neither of them betrayed that either.

They all got their gear on and made their way down the stairs. Once the furniture was removed from the door, they went back out on the street. Much of the snow had melted and the streets were far more passable, and yet there was still no traffic.

They scoured the streets, checking doors, which were mostly locked, and making their way towards the two major buildings. It took a few hours and by the time they reached the front door of the high school, the sun was already getting low in the sky.

"Do we go in now, or wait until daylight?" Kalli asked.

"I say we go in," Dean said firmly.

"Big surprise," Bre retorted.

"How much daylight is left?" Kalli inquired.

"Maybe three hours, maybe a bit more," Sam replied, checking his watch.

"Let's just get this over with. I need a cheeseburger," Dean barked and pushed the door open. The others followed him into the darkness.

The school was as quiet as every other building in town. The hallways, which might have been teeming with teenagers leaving school for the day, were instead empty and silent. The heat had clearly not been on, and a damp chill lay over everything.

Sam, Dean, Kalli and Bre moved slowly and stealthily through the building in a group, each facing a different direction, their senses on high alert. As they walked down a hallway leading to the gymnasium, they could hear voices. Even from that far down the hall, it was clear the voices were either sobbing or angry.

The first of the sick came upon the quartet quietly. They hardly had time to see them before they were right on top of them, but these sick seemed different.

"These ones seem a lot more chill than the ones we bumped into yesterday," Bre said.

"That they do," agreed Dean.

"Maybe as the disease progresses, they get more violent," Sam reasoned.

"Maybe so," Kalli agreed.

As if to prove Sam right, some more aggressive individuals pushed their way through the group and towards them.

Dean used the butt of his handgun to knock the first two that reached them out cold. Bre pummeled another with a baton and it dropped at her feet. Sam used the barrel of the shotgun on one that lunged towards Kalli driving it back and away from her. Kalli cried out and dodged another as Sam took that one down, too, with the butt of his shotgun. As Kalli backed up, one of the sick put its arms around her. She stepped back hard and pushed with her back, tripping it and breaking free from its grip. However, more slowly advanced on them.

"Try not to kill, them! We may still be able to save some of them!" Kalli cried to all three. Dean looked skeptical, but kept using the butt of his gun for the time being. Most of them weren't very dangerous at this point; the majority were still quite easy to take down.

However, dangerous or not, their numbers were swelling. More of the sick staggered into the hallway from nearby classrooms and trailed down the hallway from the gym. The hallway floor was becoming choked with downed bodies, their skin oozing, bruised and bloody.

"Bre, I can't do this - please get me out of here," Kalli cried.

A larger group surged from the classroom behind them and split Dean and Sam away from Bre and Kalli.

"Kalli!" Sam shouted.

"Sam!" Kalli shouted back.

"What're you doing?" Dean barked and grabbed Sam's arm.

"We've got to get them," Sam replied, jerking his arm away and beginning to push into the crowd.

"No way, we head to the gym," he said to Sam, then yelled to the others, "Make your way to the gym!"

Bre nodded and took Kalli's arm. Once Sam saw them run off, he followed Dean. The girls ran down the hallway, easily outpacing the slow moving victims of the disease, and back toward the door through which they had entered. They then took a flight a stairs that wrapped around the building and would take them to the upper floor of the school's gym, if the signs painted onto the cinderblock walls were accurate.

Sam and Dean doubled back, dodging the walking wounded in the first hall and then running along an almost empty hallway parallel to that one, following another set of signs toward the gym.

Dean and Sam reached the gym first. It was dimly lit inside as only the light from the setting sun shone weakly through the high windows. There were many more people inside, though most of them seemed uninfected. The brothers hid themselves among the captives, blending in easily with the still human.

In the center of the gym, they saw 2 men and 1 woman. Even from across the gym, they could see they all had black eyes. One of them was the sheriff that had been circling the town the day before.

"What's this I smell? Fresh meat? Come on out and say howdy," said the shorter of the 2 men. Dean looked at Sam, shaking his head. Sam nodded back in agreement.

"You come out or I am going to turn another one. It is so fun to watch them go," the head demon purred. Sam looked at Dean again, but Dean firmly shook his head 'no' again.

Bre and Kalli entered the upper level of the bleachers on the north side of the gym. Kalli made a move to take the side stairs down to the gym floor, but Bre stopped her. "Let's see how this plays out, shall we?" she whispered.

"Come on out and play – or I turn one of the kids," the demon chided. To prove his point, one of the others pulled a small boy in blue shorts from the pack. A woman, probably his mother, dove after him, but the other two demons beat her back and the man with her held her fast, his face red and tear-stained.

"I really think they taste better this way – kind of well done," he continued.

"Told ya'," Dean whispered to Sam.

"And they are so much easier to catch!" he continued, "None of that bloody running. You really only have to turn one, because they start turning each other pretty quickly. But I can make an exception and turn this one just to make a point."

"OK, wait," Sam said stepping out from the pack, pushing Dean back and motioning to him to make his way around to the other side of the center group.

"Hmm…what have we here?" the demon asked and then took a long sniff of the air. "Is that one of John Winchester's boys?"

"Good God, even demons know these idiots. Bad frickin' news, that's what they are," whispered Bre fiercely.

"Yup. You got me. Let the kid go," Sam said. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he hoped it would give Dean enough time to figure something out.

"Hmm…you think I would have more fun with you? Maybe, but I'm going to do this kid anyway!" he cried and then sunk his fist into the little boy's stomach. His hand seemed to penetrate the skin, but there was no blood. The boy screamed and staggered back, falling to the floor in front of Sam. It took only a few seconds before the boy's skin began to discolor and sores erupted on the surface of his soft, pale face.

"No!" Sam shouted, kneeling beside the boy. "You bastard!" he cried to the short demon.

"I am, as a matter of fact," the demon cooed. "Now step away from him so we can have a little fun with _you_ now!"

Suddenly a deep sound, like a wave of pressure, spread out across the room and pummeled Sam's eardrums. He felt himself losing consciousness and as he fell, he spun in time to see Kalli and Bre at the upper railing. Kalli's eyes were closed and her arms were out, fingers spread. Then everyone, Sam included, fell to the ground, unconscious.

"What the hell," Dean croaked when he finally came to. He was lying on the ground with his head on Bre's lap, Kalli's hand resting on the top of his head.

"Up you go, you big pussy," Bre teased and helped him to sit up. He was surprised to see the 3 demons bound, gagged and still unconscious, tied to chairs in the middle of the gym with a makeshift devil's trap spray painted around them.

The other humans were still down and so were the sick. Only the four of them seemed to be awake.

"I repeat, what the hell," Dean exclaimed and looked to Sam who shrugged and looked equally confused.

"Um, it's a bit of a long story," Kalli said sheepishly.

"Make it a fast one," Dean observed.

"Kalli, it's none of their business," Bre barked.

"We owe them some explanation, Bre, please," Kalli pleaded. "It'll be OK."

"So let me get this straight," Dean said 10 minutes later. "You're some kind of angel? I don't believe this. What is this angel crap?!"

"Look Winchester you asked a frickin' question – do you want the answer or not?"

"Dean, please, let her talk," Sam said.

"I am not an angel in the traditional sense. I'm Nephilim– a half-angel to be exact. On my father's side. He was one of the Malakhim, the angels who sort of look after humanity."

"Well, they've been doing a hell of a job."

"Dean – please," Sam begged, "go on, Kalli."

"Bre's father died when she was 2 years old. Mom was alone for the next couple of years. I mean, hunters tried, but she didn't want that. She wanted someone she could depend on and, well, as you both know all too well, hunters are not known for being the 'stick around' type. She told us years later that one night, she was going over some code and she couldn't crack it – it was like nothing she'd ever seen before. So she did what she often did when things were bad or she was having trouble, she prayed. And then she – well, she described it as a mighty fluttering, like the wings of a great eagle," Kalli explained.

"She always said it that way – a great eagle," added Bre, smiling slightly.

"So, it was an angel booty call?" Dean joked.

"Hey – that is my mother you are talking about, you dick. I realize you boys might not take it as seriously as we do, but shut it," Bre snapped. Dean acquiesced and nodded a mild apology.

"Anyway, this man – _angel_ - Araziel appeared to her. He had heard her prayer and came down to help her. My mother was magnetic-"

"-Yes, that is the perfect word for her – magnetic," Bre agreed quietly.

"People were always drawn to her. I guess my father was, too."

"Did she see him again after that?" Sam asked gently.

"No. But she told us she didn't need to. She said after my dad died, that she was hurt and lost and that there was a hole in her heart. She did her best for me don't get me wrong; she was a great mom. But Kalli here was just what she needed to fill the hole my dad left."

The women smiled at each other a little teary-eyed. Dean rolled his eyes and held his hands up in surrender.

"So you used angel magic to heal me the other day?" Sam asked suddenly and Kalli nodded in reply.

"When she was 8, a bird flew into our window. We ran outside and I picked it up. It was almost dead – broken neck. Kalli wanted to hold it and presto, it flew away."

"_That's _why you had all the strays," Dean said and Bre nodded.

"It's why I went into medicine. I thought it was a talent I had, like I was just good at it. It wasn't until I talked to a priest in Boston that I understood. I told him what my mother had told us, and he flipped. He threw me out and called me unclean."

"So much for love your neighbor," cracked Bre.

"And so much for God," Dean added.

"Don't confuse God and religion. They are not the same thing," Kalli said. "Anyway, I realized then that it wasn't a talent, it was a gift and sometimes a _curse_."

"How does it work? I mean how do you use it when you're hunting demons?" Sam asked.

Bre sighed audibly and looked at her younger sister. She shook her head and said, "We don't owe them anything."

"Bre, it doesn't matter. We can trust them."

"_You_ can trust _us_," Dean assured Bre. The implication that Kalli and Bre were untrustworthy was unspoken and yet still almost audible.

"Well, it's pretty simple. Kalli stuns 'em, we trap 'em, we tie 'em up, we kill 'em-" Bre said quickly, hoping to give as brief and general an explanation as possible.

"-Kill them?" Dean interjected.

"Yeah, a demon won't stay in a dead body for long. She stops their hearts and when the demon smokes out, she evaporates it and then we restart their hearts."

"Does it work?" Sam inquired.

"We've done it 5 – 6 times over the last 18 months," Bre replied.

"How the hell did you figure out to do that?" asked Dean.

"Well, it was sort of an accident the first time," Bre explained.

"And what about the host? What happens to them?" Sam asked.

"They survive," Bre assured him.

"Why didn't you tell us all this right away?" Sam questioned.

Kalli sighed before answering. "It has been our experience that people are not veryunderstandingabout my _condition_."

"I can't believe you are talking about angels like they actually exist," Dean cried.

"What is your problem, Winchester?" Bre demanded. Dean grunted in reply. "Have a problem with faith, do you? Big surprise," she then added.

"With this much evil in the world, how could there be a God? Or angels? And if there are, what the hell are they doing? What's the point? Why don't they clean this mess up?" Dean ranted.

"I am by no means an expert, but I think free will is the point. If God cleans it up, what's the point _then_? I think you can have peace, and allow someone to rule you, or you can have freedom and hope that _most _people choose to do the right thing _most_ of the time," Kalli explained.

"Do they remember what happened to them?" Sam asked quietly.

"Um…" Kalli said, looking to her sister for guidance.

"They don't exactly remember," Bre explained.

"What? They get amnesia?" Dean inquired.

"I can sort of wipe the event and the trauma from their memory, to a degree."

"How does the memory wipe work?" Sam inquired.

"I just have to lay my hand on their foreheads where the short term memories are stored. I usually implant a false memory in place of the real one. One I think they can handle, but that matches up well enough with the physical evidence."

"That's the real trick, believe me," added Bre. "We really f'ed up the first couple."

"Can you bring people back from the dead?" Sam inquired hopefully.

"If they have just passed away, I can sometimes bring them back. A full angel could probably bring anyone back, but not me. Sorry," she explained. She knew why he was asking and didn't blame him for doing so.

"Can you exorcise these ones?" queried Sam, motioning to the trapped demons.

Kalli replied immediately, "Of course."

She unpacked her medical kit with Bre's help as Sam watched in fascination. Dean kept his distance, but was watchful.

Kalli roused each demon one by one. When each one opened its eyes, it seemed surprised, then angry. She flexed her long fingers and then placed her hand on its chest.

"Get your hands of me you bitch," was the reaction of the first one.

But the heart of the human host slowed and stopped rather quickly and as the head fell forward, black smoke poured from the mouth and nose. In Sam and Dean's experience, the demon smoke would seek a new host or escape out a convenient air vent, but the smoke that left this victim seemed to be trapped in a globe of blue light. It swirled around for some time, but then slowly the ball fell to the floor and the smoke seemed to be absorbed into the ground.

"Son of a bitch," Dean muttered – Kalli had his attention now. "Where do they go?"

"Back to hell, Winchester, back to hell!" Bre exclaimed.

Kalli repeated the same process with the other minion. She did the leader last in case the others wanted to question him. However, no one seemed much in the mood.

"What are you up to, Half-breed?" it asked her as she moved toward him. "No, don't send me back!"

Sam was stunned, and a little uneasy, but also fascinated. Dean was upset and shared his brother's uneasiness over the whole thing. However, it was over rather quickly, and with very little fuss.

"Yahtzee," Dean finally said when the last demon was dispatched. Kalli thumped the man's chest with her closed fist and blue light sparked out from inside her hand. The man took a deep breath, coughed and then began to breathe normally.

"What about the sick?" Sam inquired.

"What about them?" Bre asked.

"Can you turn them back?"

Kalli looked uncertain, but answered honestly after a few seconds, "No. I don't think I can. I tried to cure the one we first met on the street, but I couldn't. Wounds I can do, like Sam's hematoma. But demon curses are hard to break once cast. Maybe if I had enough time to study the curse, but they would likely be dead by then."

"Could you erase what happened here from the survivors memories?" Sam then asked.

Kalli thought for a moment. Of course she knew it was within her power to fulfill the request, but she also knew that that power, if it became known to others, would put her and her sister at risk not only from demons and their ilk, but from other hunters – the so-called 'good guys'. There was a solusolution to that problem, too, but she didn't even want to think about it until it was absolutely necessary.

"I could," she finally replied.

"Please do it," Sam told her. "What can we do to help?"

Bre and Dean carried the slowly waking bodies to Sam, who then held them still for Kalli to work on. It took several hours, but she was able to make it through all the survivors. By the end, she was exhausted.

"They'll be OK now?" Sam asked, when the final person was wiped and a better, but plausible memory was implanted.

"They should be," she responded quietly. Kalli stumbled over to a bench and sat down hard on it. "I need to rest for bit," she pleaded.

Sirens became audible in the background shortly after they finished, and the sun was nearly ready to rise. They all knew they needed to hightail it out of town fast.

"What will happen when the cops and the CDC get here?" Sam asked Kalli as they made their way along the back lanes back to the SUV parked outside of town. Her arm was up and around his shoulder while Dean and Bre carried the supplies and equipment.

"By the time the cops get here, the townspeople will think it was a sickness and be glad to have survived. The dead will be taken away and studied. Their results will be inconclusive. The survivors will mourn their losses, but they will get over them, maybe even a little sooner and a little better than they normally would."

The Impala's powerful motor revved healthily in spite of the plastic bags taped over its back and rear side window. Dean had made the treacherous trip up the still snowy gravel drive to the highway, where the road was now clear and ready for driving in two lanes. Dean loaded his things from Bre's trunk into his own and then leaned against the car while Sam collected his bags from the truck and Kalli re-arranged things in the back of the SUV.

Bre approached Dean and leaned against the car next to him.

"Don't scratch my paint job," he said.

"There's that Winchester charm that I have come to know and love. It's been a …uh…_pleasure_ working with you guys," she snapped and pushed away from the car.

"Hey," Dean said grabbing her hand before she got too far away. "It hasn't been half bad. Kinda fun being on a team, but I wouldn't want to do it every day."

"You know, you're not much of a gambler, but you sure are pretty, _Dean_."

"You're not so bad yourself, _Bre_," Dean said and laughed for a moment. However, he then turned a little more serious. "Look about your sister. I know why you didn't tell us about her…_magical angel powers_. They are awesome…and a little terrifying. You're right to keep it a secret. You can trust us, of course. But I know more than a few hunters who would do just about anything to have her on their side."

"Or under their thumb. Thanks for understanding. See ya' around," Bre finished, turning to walk away. Suddenly Dean pulled her back to him. They kissed passionately for a few minutes; then Bre backed away and smiled.

"See ya' around," called Dean as he got into the driver's seat.

"Yup, see ya," she replied.

Bre moved to where Sam was finishing up loading the trunk of the Impala when Kalli approached Dean in the driver's seat.

"Hey, Doc. Thanks for Sam and all that…_stuff_ you did back there. I guess it makes some sense – your way, I mean. People actually live. I'm not sure about the whole _angel - free will_ thing, but I might give it some thought."

"Thanks, Dean," Kalli said. She leaned down and Dean thought she was going to kiss him, which she did, on the cheek. However, once she pressed her lips to his stubbly cheek, she quickly placed the palm of her hand on his forehead, pinning his head to the headrest, and began to whisper.

"What the hell! No, don't!" Dean cried hoarsely, but his eyes drooped suddenly to half-mast and he quickly stopped speaking entirely. He stared straight ahead and soon looked like he was asleep with his eyes open.

Kalli leaned back out and went around to the back of the car just as Bre patted Sam's back in goodbye and went to start their SUV.

"Well, Sam, I guess we should be going," she said sadly. There was no doubt in her mind; she was going to really miss him. Whether or not he would have missed her, too, was moot. The sad truth was he wouldn't miss much of anything about the last 3 days.

"Look, about last night…," Sam began.

"I'm sorry about that. I got a little carried away. I am not that… good… with…guys."

"Kalli, you're great, but I just lost my fiancé, not even a year ago and…"

"It's OK, why would anyone want to get mixed up with all this?" she asked, motioning to herself.

"I would… if it was a year from now or..."

"I know," she agreed.

"If things were just different-"

"-I get it."

"Maybe they will be different someday," he added sweetly.

"I hope so."

"And we'll see each other again. The road isn't that big, right?" Sam said.

"I guess. Be happy, Sam."

"You, too," he replied.

She kissed him on the cheek and brushed the bangs from his eyes. Then she smiled a bitter-sweet smile. He looked into her eyes and then immediately understood what was about to happen. She raised her hand to his head but he caught her wrist.

"Kalli, please don't. I want to remember you," he said, but Kalli shook her head.

"It's too dangerous, Sam, for us and for you. You can't ask me to leave that knowledge in your head. If you were captured and tortured, you might let it slip in spite of your best intentions. And then heaven only knows who or what would be after us."

"Will it hurt?"

"No, it won't. You'll feel dizzy at first, but good afterwards."

"OK, do it," he whispered. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly, closing his eyes as she placed her hand on his forehead.

When he stood back up, his eyes were unfocused and he blinked slowly. She finished the incantation and removed her hand.

"Goodbye, Sam," she said, and kissed his cheek one more time.

Kalli walked to the SUV. She slid into the passenger seat and buckled herself in.

"Did you do it?" Bre asked, as she put the truck in gear.

"Yes."

"A complete wipe?"

"Yes! Just drive."

Bre nodded and pressed the gas down hard. She wanted to put a little distance between her sister and Sam Winchester.

In a few minutes, the brothers seem to recover, but had no memory of anything that had happened. Sam got into the car, lifting a road map from his seat and then buckling himself in.

"Guess we need to get those windows fixed. That storm did a lot of damage to my girl," said Dean groggily.

"OK, sure," Sam agreed.

"How do you feel?"

"Uh, better than I have for a long time, actually," Sam replied. "No headache at all. But it's weird, I feel like I am forgetting something."

"Something important?" Dean asked.

Sam considered the question for bit, and then seemed to brighten up. "No, I guess not."

"Maybe it'll come back to you," Dean suggested.

"Maybe. Let's go."

"I need a drink and a cheeseburger, man," said Dean. "I feel like I haven't eaten for 3 days. Where the hell are we?"

"Um…We're in Minnesota on Highway 12. We need to head due east, then north to Hibbing."

"What's in Hibbing?"

"A young boy has gone missing," Sam replied while consulting the newspaper on the seat next to him.

The Impala threw up gravel from the side of the road as Dean gunned it and peeled out onto the clear roadway in front of them. In less than an hour, they would feel them old selves and have no sense of loss.

The Winchester boys had forgotten, but they would not _be_ forgotten.


End file.
